


To Us, Twenty Years From Now

by EquinoxSolstice



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Canon Era, Domestic Bliss, Domestic Fluff, F/M, Family Feels, Family Fluff, Female Eren Yeager, Fluff, Genderbending, Happy Ending, Kid Fic, Married Life, One Big Happy Family, Post-Series
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-12
Updated: 2015-02-12
Packaged: 2018-03-12 03:05:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,894
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3341204
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EquinoxSolstice/pseuds/EquinoxSolstice
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This was his life now: getting a six-year-old to sleep, a wife to fold their laundry, and holding a blade to cut rabbits and deer open for his family as opposed to human and Titan flesh.</p>
<p>Levi didn't want to be anywhere else.</p>
            </blockquote>





	To Us, Twenty Years From Now

**Author's Note:**

> I am trash. I'm supposed to be continuing Biological Imperative but this just hit my Ereri feelings so hard I needed to fill it. We all need fluff in our lives. Don't deny it. And BioImp is just so hard on my feels right now I can't finish it. So. 
> 
> And I love Fem!Eren to pieces. I just want a happy fluffy family story, okay?! Don't judge me. Based on [ this prompt](http://snkkink.dreamwidth.org/13546.html?thread=9912554#cmt9912554) on the kink meme. 
> 
> Unbeta'd, set about... ten to twenty years? after the canon. Fem!Eren, domestic, family fluff so fluffy your teeth will rot, and a non-descriptive sex scene near the end. Enjoy.
> 
> Also, [ my tumblr](http://equinoxsolstice.tumblr.com).

"I'm home."

Two words Levi thought he would never say in his entire life.

Levi hung his coat once he closed the front door behind him, looking into the tiny room that comprised his entire world. Warm sunlight filtered through the windows, a gentle breeze wafting through the white curtains, the sun steadily sinking in the horizon. It illuminated the simple, wooden space, comfortable and homey, colored in familiar browns and reds. Simple paintings decorated the walls, shelves decorated with simple trinkets they were allowed to have now.

Their small, quaint cottage was just on the outskirts of what used to be the district of Shinganshina. Now that Humanity had triumphed against the Titans, more and more people started to venture outside the Walls, some even deciding to relocate inside the former Wall Maria. Shinganshina was slowly and surely bustling with life again, but both of them agreed silently that living in a town wasn't a good choice for either of them.

They went through hell, seen too much, did too many things, experienced more death and destruction than anyone else and lived through it. They both wanted peace and quiet, to have a slice of paradise just for themselves. When the Survey Corps arranged an expedition to explore the outside world, Levi declined. He didn't want to fight anymore, he was exhausted; didn't want to know what was on the other side of the world, content to breathe the fresh air and see the limitless sky above him. Eren had a more difficult time deciding on what she wanted to do, even if she was going to leave with Levi's blessing. She yearned to see more of the world, to discover its beauty and secrets, but Levi wasn't going to join her. Levi urged her to join them; he would always wait for her to come back, and he would do it faithfully. He didn't give a fuck if it took fifty years, he knew Eren would come back to him.

But in the end she opted to stay back while her sister and best friend went to the expedition alongside their friends. Sometimes Levi wondered if she regretted it, to stay inside the Walls with him while it was clear even before that she had despised it. If she did, she never said anything to him, and always looked happy in his presence. Levi never questioned it, didn't think he could manage to, just fiercely and selfishly glad that in the end, Eren chose him over her dream.

It made the nightmares easier to bare, for both of them.

This was home.

"Welcome back." There was an answer he didn't think he would hear in this life either, said by the girl--no, _woman_ Levi was certain he would love in this lifetime and beyond.

Levi turned in the direction of the voice, and found his breath taken away.

"Eren."

He still couldn't get used to it even after all these years, the way civilian clothing fit Eren so perfectly, beautiful in her long skirt and tunic, covered by the white apron she had on. He was so used to seeing her in military uniform looking at her now was a pleasant jolt to his eyes, her hair completely up in a bun as opposed to letting her hair down when she was a teen, a few strands falling in front of her face, framing those gorgeous eyes that had taken him in oh so many years ago. They still burned with a passion, now softened by years of happiness and peace.

Still didn't think that he could have her, could have _this_ , and he still forever lived in fear that it would taken away from him again.

Her eyes shined when she saw him, carrying a washcloth in her hands as she moved towards him, knowing him enough to not touch him, not yet.

"Here. For dinner." He presented the skinned rabbits to her, since that was the only thing he could carry inside. The deer was outside, and he disdained the thought of bringing a carcass inside their pristine, clean home.

She smiled, and it made his heart stop. "It's been a while since we had rabbit." They exchanged hands, Eren carrying the meat to the sink to prepare it, Levi running the washcloth through his hands to get rid of the stench of blood and guts on it. It would never go away, Levi thought, watching her move around their kitchen at the corner of his eye, but, then again, it wasn't as if he had a choice in the matter.

Eren understood. She always did.

After skinning the deer outside and cleaning himself up, Levi went back to the kitchen and found a cup of black tea on the table, in front of the chair he always sat on, steaming hot and waiting for him. Eren was still cooking, the scent of stew thickening in the air. Levi took a sip of his black tea and went to her, Eren turning around just in time to be enveloped by his arms, to be devoured by his lips, hands moving through her soft curves.

He wanted her. For the longest time, Levi wanted Eren Jaeger, his subordinate in the Survey Corps and the first known titan-shifter. She was so young back then, the fifteen to his twenty-eight, barely an adult while he had seen and experienced things no person should ever see in any lifetime. At the very start, she had been his, but not in the way both of them realized nor wanted until much later.

During the war, he was ready to die. His luck and skill could only take him so far, and he was all but certain that at the end, he was going to lose his life, and he was content with that.

_"Captain, please don't die. My heart beats alongside yours and the moment it stops will be the end of humanity."_

It took some time for him to admit to himself that he loved her. Eren was more open, always determined; their life was short and she didn't intend to waste any of it, even if she didn't die easily. Everything was so complicated back then, being in the military, being her superior, being _human_. As a man he wanted her, as a superior he watched over her, and as a human, he was in love with her. Deeply and truly so.

She was everything he didn't know he wanted and she was the one person he could never have.

Somehow, miraculously, they managed it. They did it. They managed to kill all of the Titans, save Humanity, and even cure Eren, so no one would have the reason to kill her anymore. The wedding shouldn't even be called that; it was the last stand between them and the monarchy and Levi was not the man to waste an opportunity once he had it. It was a rushed, messy affair, Pastor Nick quaking in his shoes and shouting the words of the ceremony as they systematically cut down the royal guards together. Eren didn't shift because there wasn't a need to, tasting the blood and sweat off each other's lips once they've been declared husband and wife, already wearing the rings that signified their devotion to each other.

Levi knew this kind of peace wouldn't last, it never did, but he was greedy enough to take it when it was offered.

"Levi, I'm cooking dinner." Eren tried to protest, feeling her fingers run through his undercut, and the delicious way she shuddered against him made Levi smirk against her skin. His passion for her never faded, even after so many years. True, her body had lost all the hardness from military training, but she still remained svelte, her figure more feminine and curvaceous now than before. She was soft against his hardness, the fire to his ice, the earth to his sky. She complimented him, an equal standing beside him now.

Eren was able to give him the greatest honor he could think of, and for that Levi would forever be thankful for and to her.

Levi acquiesced after a moment, suckling a pale bruise on her neck and delighting at the gasp of pleasure it wrought from his wife. "Where is she? It's getting late." Levi asked against Eren's neck, hands still on her waist, one eyes peeking at the front door.

It was quiet. Too quiet.

Eren glanced at the window, where the sun was almost down. "She'll be home any minute now. She's playing in a friend's house." Be home at sundown, that was Levi's strict rule, and as willful as she was, like her mother, Levi knew that she would listen. "Now let go of me, I don't want her to see us like this." She was blushing, he could feel the heat against his cheek.

They separated just in time to hear the knock on the front door and to see it slam open, a small black head rushing through the doorway and into Levi's already waiting arms. Levi lifted her easily, holding her while she shrieked and squirmed against him. Her laugh was a chime of bells that reverberated through his soul, awakening it and piecing it together once again.

If there was one person Levi possibly loved more than his wife, it was this little girl with his dark hair and pale skin and wide blue-green eyes that was just as captivating, if not more than, her mother's. She was their whole world, their universe, and the moment she was gone from his life would be the moment Levi would let everything burn.

And Eren would follow him willingly.

"Papa, let me down! I'm too big to be carried!" Carla Isabel Jaeger cried, wiggling still, and Levi merely held on to her tighter. Even being semi-retired he made sure that he kept his skills up and always encouraged Eren to do the same. Levi made a note to himself to ask her to spar with him in a few days.

"No." Levi answered simply. "Not until you kiss me on the cheek."

"Silly Papa," Carla pouted, before kissing his cheek and giggling sweetly. Levi couldn't stop the smile stretching on his lips; it was impossible to when his daughter was so affectionate and endearing, so much like Eren it was impossible to frown in her presence. Levi could've put her down but it was obvious she still liked it; Carla was growing up so fast it seemed like yesterday that their newborn daughter was placed in the exhausted, recently-went-through-labor Eren's arms while he cradled them both to his chest, silent tears sliding down his and Eren's cheeks because he was a father now, they were parents, and their family was complete.

"Have you been good?" He questioned softly and she nodded quickly, and he turned to the teen standing awkwardly at their doorstep, the older brother of Carla's playmate. A tall, lanky boy; had he been born a decade and a half ago he would be training already for the military if he wished it. "Thank you, Nikolai."

"Welcome home, sweetheart." Eren kissed their daughter's head and added, "Thank you for bringing her home," to the teen, who went faintly red and nodded, but said his goodbyes and left the small family alone for the night.

"Did you have fun?" Levi asked Carla as they finally made their way to the table to eat, lanterns lighting up the room. He let her sit in his lap while completely ignoring the fond roll of Eren's eyes at him. So bite him, he liked having his little girl close; she was his only child (as of the moment) and he wanted to spend as much time with her until she started pushing them away when she's older. "What did you do today?"

"Uh-huh! You see..." And then Carla proceeded to tell them about her entire day, which consisted of going to school in the morning, coming back at home for lunch, and then playing with her friends in the afternoon. At six years old she was quite the chatterbox; happy to tell her parents everything that was going on in her life, and Levi could listen to her forever. Wished she would never had a reason to have her innocence stained with blood and darkness, something her parents had no privilege of having.

His cheeks were already aching from effort but he didn't care. He wasn't used to smiling yet, Eren had done her damnedest to make his expression unfreeze for many years and it was still a work in progress. He didn't have many things to smile about in the first place, and it made him look younger than he really was. With his height, it was an unfortunate combination.

Levi handed Carla her own spoon as they started to eat, the bowls of stew and loaves of bread already waiting on the table, but the moment her little hand closed around the handle it clattered to the ground.

"Ouch!"

"What's wrong?" Levi asked at once, looking down at her and narrowing his eyes in worry.

Carla immediately hid her hands under the table, flushing darkly under her long, dark hair. "It's nothing Papa, I was just surprised." She said, big eyes begging him to let him go, but Levi wasn't about to teach his daughter to hide things from him.

"Let me take a look." Eren was by their sides immediately, gently but insistently tugging Carla's hands in their view so they could take a clearer look. Carla struggled a little, but between her ridiculously strong parents, she had no choice. Her knuckles were bruising in the lamplight, pale skin blooming with red and violet.

"What happened?" Eren went to the kitchen to get the herbs and bandages, getting a cloth to wipe away the flecks of dried blood on her hands.

"Um... today, at school, someone was making Riel cry. It was one of the older kids, teasing him because he had only had a mama." Carla looked scared but determined to say her part. "He was being mean so I asked him to stop, but he wouldn't listen and he stared tugging on my braids." The twin braids she earnestly asked Levi to do every morning, because they couldn't bear to cut her straight, black locks. "It started to hurt a lot and he asked me if I was gonna cry and I was but I got so angry I punched him in the face."

Levi blinked, and he exchanged glances with his wife at the top of their daughter's head. He was torn between concern and fierce pride. Their little girl, taking names and kicking ass at the tender age of six, even younger than Eren was when she started. Would it always be like this, feeling these conflicting emotions when it came to their daughter?

Because you could bet your goddamn ass Levi was proud that his little girl put a little bastard back in his place.

"He fell down and I know I was supposed to stop, but he made Riel cry and he messed with my braids, so I sat on him and continued punching him until Teacher showed up and pulled me back." Carla finished with a huff, crossing her arms. "He was a bully and he deserved it. Please don't be angry at me, I know Teacher said that fighting was bad but only Mama and Papa can touch my braids." She pleaded. "And no one should make Riel cry." She added thoughtfully.

Complete, utter silence. Carla squeezed her eyes shut, waiting for the inevitable scolding.

"Carla, sweetheart," Eren finally sighed, features softening as she caressed the injured hand. "I am so proud that you stood up to protect your friend."

Hesitantly, one blue-green eye peeked out. "... Really?"

"We're just worried because you were hurt." He explained to Carla, and that was true. "He didn't hurt you?"

"My head kinda stings because he was pulling at my hair earlier, but I'm okay, Papa." Carla answered truthfully, and Levi exhaled a breath he didn't know he was holding. Good, because if that punk even hurt a hair on his daughter's head he would have Levi to deal with, age difference be damned. It looked like Eren was thinking along the same lines, if her expression was of any indication. But it was a start.

"When you punch someone in the face, your hand should be like this." Levi found himself saying, curling her bandaged hand into a fist, showing her how it was done. She was their daughter, of course she would get into trouble, get herself into fights, but what he--they can do as parents was to make sure that she knew how to defend herself and when to pick her battles. "And punch here so it won't hurt your hand as much." He brought her fist to his face, pressing on his cheek, just under his cheekbone, all in front of her widened eyes. "See? It's softer here, so your hand wouldn't hurt a lot, but you're gonna hurt the person you're punching."

"But isn't punching someone bad?" Carla asked with a quiver on her bottom lip, and Levi almost snorted. Some people needed a lot more than a punch.

"Carla, sometimes you need to punch people because they're being mean." Eren explained softly. "And they needed to be stopped. But you only do that when they hurt you and the people you care about, okay? In fact," she glanced at Levi, who blinked. "What do you say about Papa teaching you how to fight?"

"R-Really?!" The way she just... lit up at the thought made refusing so damned difficult. Fuck, he was spoiling his daughter and he couldn't bring himself to care.

"Mhmm." Eren nodded and glanced at him, eyes sparkling in mischief. "Papa's the best in fighting when he was younger. Right, _Papa_?"

Papa. Levi's eyes darkened considerably. He'd get Eren for that later. In bed. "Sure. Papa can teach you."

"Yay!" Carla giggled and it was the most beautiful sound in the world. "I can't wait!"

"But remember to always only punch people if they hurt you. I don't want to hear anything about you picking a fight, Carla Isabel Jaeger." Eren said sternly, and Levi had to bite his lip to stop the laughter bubbling out of his chest, aware of the withering glare his wife gave him. Motherhood also changed Eren too, in a lot of ways.

But Carla was nodding solemnly. "I promise, Mama!"

"All right then, let's finish eating." Eren smiled. "The food's getting cold."

* * *

"Carla, it's time to go to bed!" Levi heard Eren calling out as he brought in the laundry from their rooftop downstairs. "I want you in bed in five minutes or Papa won't tell you a bedtime story!"

“Awww! No fair, Mama!” Carla whined from her room, where she was probably playing with her toys.

“Carla Isabel Jaeger, I’m not telling you again!” Motherhood suited Eren, despite the brash recklessness of her youth, and had told him before that now she knew what her mother, Carla’s namesake, felt like when Eren was growing up. Karma was a bitch, and Levi always made it a point to cheerfully remind her of that. Then again, if someone told Levi twenty years ago that he would be a husband to a strong, beautiful woman and a father to an equally gorgeous, adorable little girl, he would have bared his teeth at them and killed them where they stood. Levi finally reached the landing and raised an eyebrow at his wife, who merely took the basket from him and ushered him along the short corridor.

"I'm going!" A clatter of things and rustle of sheets sounded in the nearest bedroom, and Levi sighed affectionately, leaving Eren to take care of their clothes while he knocked on their daughter’s room. This was his life now, getting a six-year-old to sleep, a wife to fold their laundry, holding a blade to cut open game for his family as opposed to human and Titan flesh. Sometimes he missed using the Maneuver Gear, the sensation of flying, of freedom, but the sight of the open sky above him and his wife and child greeting him home was more than enough to make up for it. Because they won the war, both Human and Titan, he and Eren were set up to live their lives in relative comfort, but he missed the feeling of being useful.

"Are you in bed now?" Bedtime stories were a special bonding moment between him and his daughter, something Eren didn’t begrudge him of, because they both knew there were things only they could provide her. Getting jealous was petty, they were both adults, and besides, no one could braid and fix Carla’s hair like Eren could. It all evened out.

"Yes, Papa!"

"I know when you're lying.”

“Well... not exactly...”

“Ten seconds!” Levi waited until twenty to finally walk into his daughter’s room, and when he did, Carla was already in her sleeping gown and under the covers, waiting impatiently for him.

“So?” He settled on the chair beside her bed. “Which story do you want to hear tonight?”

“Ooh, please tell me the story of the Captain and the big Shifter met again! It’s my favorite!” Carla said, excited and eager. “The Captain’s so brave, saving the Shifter like that!”

“That story, again?” Levi couldn’t bear to tell her the complete truth. Not yet. But at the same time, Levi didn’t want to hide what they have been through to have her, and she deserved to know what happened to the world she was going to live in longer than they did. To Carla they were just stories. To him, to Eren, it was history.

It was always good to pass on some family history.

“Are you sure? That’s a pretty scary story.” Levi hummed thoughtfully, hiding a smile when she pouted. “I thought you don’t like the stories about the people-eating monsters at night.”

“I’m a big girl, Papa!” Carla sniffed. “I can handle a scary story at night! I don’t need the light!”

He was pretty sure she would be running to their room later on, saying there was a Titan in her closet, but he humored her all the same. “All right, then. So the city of Trost was in ruins...”

It was cathartic, in a way. Telling their daughter the (lightened) events of what happened to him, to her mother, and the war. Maybe when she was older, they would tell her the complete truth, but for now, this would suffice.

He hid a smirk at her slowly paling cheeks.

“And then, the Titans were getting closer...”

* * *

Eren was already asleep when he entered their bedroom later on that night, laundry already folded and ready to be ironed tomorrow morning. The fact that she was sleeping earlier than usual nowadays made his brow furrow, worry settling in his chest. Lately she looked more exhausted, less exuberant, and it unsettled him more than he’d like to admit. If it went on, he was going to take her to a doctor, her protests that she was fine notwithstanding.

He took off his clothes and slid beside her, molding his chest against her back, tangling their legs and fingers together as his arm slid around her waist. He kissed the back of her neck, rested his cheek against her hair and just held her, relished in the warmth of her body and the knowledge that she was entirely his. That he was the only one who knew every curve, every shiver of her body, that a simple touch from him could make her scream in pleasure.

“... Levi?” She turned slightly, still tousled and hazy and sleep-warm and it was a wonder his heart didn’t stop at the sight.

“I’m sorry, were you expecting someone else?” He asked drolly and expected the smack on his bare arm, as well as the eye roll. She was allowed to do that, now. He hid his smile on her skin and he knew Eren could feel it, making her relax against him.

“Is Carla asleep?”

“Seems to be.” He spent quite some time convincing her that no, there were no more Titans, and yes, she wasn’t going to be eaten before settling down her head on the pillow. “She’s fine.”

“Good.” She turned to face him, face troubled, and it struck him how _young_ she really was, that he watched and helped her grow into the woman she was now. Levi felt himself holding his breath.

“What is it?”

“Levi... I...” She gripped his arm, hesitating, and terror chilled his blood. Was there something wrong? Did something happen while he was gone? Why didn’t Eren tell him?

“Is Farlan a good name for a boy?” She blurted out and his brain flatlined as he processed what she was trying to say. Eren was bright red as he looked at her incredulously, as it finally clicked.

Oh, fuck. He couldn’t breathe. It was too much.

“Since when?” His voice was barely a whisper.

“... A month and a half ago. I... I was supposed to bleed last week, but sometimes it delays, so I wasn’t sure. I even went to the doctor and they confirmed it for me... Levi? Are you okay?” She looked scared, he thought vaguely. Why would she look that way? Didn’t she know how... how goddamned _happy_ he was right now? How incredible, how wonderful, how perfect she was, because he didn’t deserve her or their child but he had them anyway.

And now he would have more than he imagined in his life.

“Please say something.” She was begging now, color gone from her cheeks as she stared at him with wide, terrified eyes. He couldn't believe it. It felt unreal. He was ruined. Completely and utterly ruined for anyone else.

Words. He had to use them.

“Le--mmph!!” He kissed her, long and hard and he didn’t want to let her go, not when he could taste the sweetness of her lips, their victory in every gasp of breath. He kissed her until she trembled against him, her arms wrapping around his neck, nails scratching at his back as he pressed her down on their bed. Brown hair splayed out against the whiteness of the sheets, rouge-colored lips parted slightly as she looked up at him with heavy-lidded eyes.

Eren Jaeger was a Goddess. And he was but a lowly worshiper.

“How can you be sure?” He whispered against her lips and watched the color blossom back into her face, the delight that sparkled in her eyes, twinkling against the darkness of the room.

“Hmm... I just can tell.” Fingers played at his undercut, red still high on her cheeks. “Although if it’s going to be a girl I wouldn’t mind. You won’t mind?” Why on Maria would Levi _mind_? Being surrounded by three girls was a dream come true to him.

He shook his head. He had no words for what he felt, could only hope that Eren would understand him, what he wanted to say.

_Thank you._

_I love you._

_Please stay by my side for the rest of our lives._

“Farlan... would be a good name.” He said instead, and the smile that broke out on her face told him she understood him perfectly. He lowered himself into her arms, his fingers skimming along her bare abdomen in reverence as their touches became more heated and intimate. He held her against him, slid inside her with an ease that only showed how perfectly they fit together. He whispered his devotion against the marks he made on her tanned throat, her answering murmurs muffled by his mouth, body taut, soft moans that sent his mind reeling from want to need. Her heart pounded against his chest, her touch lighting a fire under his skin, her eyes dragging him deeper into a thrall.

He fought for breath, for balance. His fingers dug into her hips as desperation reached its peak. Her quiet gasps were so loud against the thunder of his pulse, skin damp and burning to the touch as they both took flight, made him feel the freedom he yearned for all his life, and finally found in her arms.

Levi shuddered at her soft cry of release, and only then did he also let go.

Later on that night they would be awakened by a frantic Carla knocking on their door, woken up and scared that there was a Titan under her bed. Levi would let her in while a frantic Eren tried to fix their bedding, tossing a pair of pants at him and telling him to get dressed. He would hide a smirk while cuddling Carla to his bare chest, aware of the exasperated look Eren would be giving him.

Levi would lay Carla between them, would tell her that in a year or so, she would have a little brother or sister to take care of. Their daughter would beam happily, would press her small hands against Eren’s still flat stomach, babbling her excitement until drowsiness would settle in, and they would drift off like that, warm and safe and content.

It was another beginning to their forever.


End file.
